Look out zoo

Tomorrow Jack and I are heading to the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville. We are going with our good friends Amber, RJ, and Heidi Lindemann and Jamee and Emily Baltzell. Besides the zoo we have hopes to do lots of other things. Mainly SHOP!!

Wish us luck. We may be crazy, but Jason has been kind enough to loan me his mini van, so we are loading up first thing in the morning and headed off for what I know will be a memorable day!!

Predict the height of your child

I read about a height predictor in one of my parenting magazines and wanted to try it out to see if Jack was going to be as tall as everyone predicts that he will be.

I found more than one through my bff Google. I tried 3 or 4 of them and will go with the tallest height predicted for Jack at 6'4". Cliff is 6'5" and I am 5'9". Really 5'9.5" but it would not let me add the .5

Give it a try and see if you are raising a future giant.

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/child-height-predictor

Cramping up

The dreaded leg cramp.

Supposedly it goes along with pregnancy. Whatever it comes with, I want it to stop. Last night's cramps left me in tears and with a slight limp today.

Cramps please go away.

ACCEPTED

I found out today that Jack will be a member of the 2008-2009 pre-school class at St. Thomas!!

I am so excited. I have been waiting to hear this news for months and I almost feel like he has been admitted to Harvard!

Tears have been shed and numerous consoling e-mails from Holly Farley sent when I got the letter in May saying that Jack did not get into pre-k or the St. Thomas pre-school. Jack is only three and has two years until he goes to kindergarten, and we still had the option of driving to Olney again to the fantastic Young Explorers pre-school, but with a new baby coming in December, I knew that would be hard. I felt bad for Jack and was worried that even though I personally was very aware that he probably operated at a genius level, I felt like he was going to be missing out on something. I had finally accepted it and come to realize that there was still next year for him to hopefully get into one of the pre-school programs. Not getting in was not a slap in our face, but it just meant Jack was doing just fine.

Then a few weeks ago a magical letter arrived saying that there was a chance that St. Thomas may have a morning class if there was enough interest. I called immediately to get him on the list. I found out today that they will be having that morning class and Jack's name is on the list!

I know it will be hard to send Jack to school. I still am struggling with the decision to send him. On one hand I know it will be VERY good for him to have a chance to interact with people other than his mother, on the other hand I think that you are only three once. Once he goes to school, I know he will seem that much more grown up. As of now, unless something huge happens to change my mind, my baby is going to school.

Now to find the perfect cool backpack!!!

Mr.Obama goes to Europe

For Joe Ungrund

"Barack has been in Europe, as you know, and they have gone wild for him.

How's it being perceived in the USA?

Are people happy about it, think he is showing off, or glad that he is showing he can do foreign politics."

the masses showed up

they still believe in America

that dream lives on in human hearts

its about time for a super hero to show up and save the world

here he is now

it is up to us support the light

focus all over Europe

lets hear it for the rainbow tour

for real powerful stuff

the kind of huge truth the media cannot shape

like katrina we saw it - we felt it

change is needed

he has arrived

believe what u know

--I did not write the words above, I wish I had.

Thanks to our President, the rest of the world's opinion of us is now not so favorable. An unpopular and unjust war has done so much damage to what most people had perceived was an impenetrable reputation.

Go ahead. Worry about two men marrying each other. Worry about President Clinton having an affair with an intern. Worry about a woman's right to choose. Worry about Senator Obama's religion, his heritage, the color of his skin, worry that he may have not went to visit an army base in Germany that you think he should have. Whatever it takes. Keep pulling the wool over your eyes.

It sure is not 1950 anymore. The USA is no longer number one in many, many areas. It's getting worse and it needs to get better. Is Obama Superman? Batman? I don't know. I hope he is. He may not have super powers, but he sure has a power that not many of us had had for a very long time. He has the power to make us hope, hope for more and hope for better. And that my friends is a pretty powerful thing.

Welcome Eaton bloggers!

Sarah Sez would like to offer a big blogging welcome to Jyn Eaton and her new blog Eaton's Edibles.

Check out the Eaton's blog to see some great food Jyn has cooked and pics of her beautiful family!

21 WEEKS

21 weeks pregnant today! Once again, this is not a picture of me. As I have mentioned before, I will NOT be sharing a picture of my bare pregnant belly. What I WILL do is look for the most entertaining bare pregnant belly pics I can find. Feel free to leave me a comment with a caption for this one (and by the way, whoever the chick is in the pic, she is 21 weeks P G, just like me).

The baby has begun to move around more this past week. My pants are getting tighter and the HUGE tub of maternity clothes that I got from Jill Bierman were very welcome.


Sadly, I have found out (through self-diagnosis) that I have gall stones and will very likely need my gall bladder out at a later date. That gives me something not to look forward to.

Free OBAMA button

Time to stop horsin' around and get back to the real world!

Get this really cool OBAMA button for free by clicking here.

The Two Horses of the Apocalypse

Some answers to frequently asked questions about the great Horse vs. Car incident of '08


Q.Were they horses just roaming free?
A. No, they did belong to someone, this is not the Ole West. Word on the street is that they were sadly some type of race horses belonging to the Finn family that got out of wherever it was that they were being housed.

Q.Did the horses have a suicide pact?
A.One can never know, although the economy is bad

Q.Do we know the names of the horses?
A. No, I wish I did and if I find out I will share.

Q.Is Cliff ok?
A.Yes, he is. He is very sore. More sore from the seatbelt than anything.

Q.Did he see the horse or was it just standing in the road?
A.No, he did not see the horse. It jumped out in front of his car.

Q.Did the horses die on impact?
A.Yes

Q.Do horses go to heaven?
A.That is for you to decide.

Q.How weird is it to hit a horse with your car?
A.About as weird as hitting an elephant.

Cliff-1 Horse-0

As I mentioned in my earlier post Cliff had a run in with a Horse, yes I said HORSE, on his way to work this morning.

He was on the highway around Hidalgo when he met up with the animal. It hit the front of his car and went over the top (that is where the huge dent on top came from). He climbed out through the broken windshield and the car then caught on fire. As you can see the fire continued and there is nothing left of his car. He is really sore, mainly from the seat belt that he was luckily wearing.

Sadly, Cliff had 1000's of dollars worth of tools in his car that he lost. His wallet was burned as well and now we have to mess with replacing his license, credit cards, etc.

Another horse on the loose was hit by a semi and also met his maker.

Chris Parr, a volunteer fireman called me this morning. He was on the scene after Cliff left via ambulance for the hospital. He said Cliff probably did not realize how lucky he was. At that point I had not seen his car so there was no way for me to know just how true Parr's words were.

Cliff vs Horse

Cliff had was in an accident on his way to work early this morning. He hit a horse (this is not a picture of the scene). The horse did not make it. Cliff's work car did not survive either. Cliff was taken to the ER by Ambulance. He is super sore, scratched up from the broken windshield glass, but overall, he is ok.

Really though can you believe it--He hit a horse.

Thank you for being a friend

Estelle Getty, Sophia from the Golden Girls, has died.

Sad day, but she will live on for many years to come on the Lifetime Network.

Hardees is getting a facelift

Have you been by Hardees lately (in Newton)? Only the drive-thru is open and the sign has changed from just HARDEES to Hardees Red Burrito. I am intrigued.

In case you don't know I live about a block away from Hardees. Close enough to smell the greasy goodness and close enough to hear people place their orders on the drive-thru speaker while setting outside at night.

New sign
Under construction
Cliff is fairly certain that the workers are not
Union!



Major remodel

And on to the Red Burrito issue. What is that? I googled it and the best I came up with is the Green Burrito menu for their sister restaurant Carl's Jr. click here to view it. Sounds pretty good.

If you have any other more accurate info, please fill us in. I hate being a rumor starter. I prefer to be a rumor spreader.

Tattoos

Friday night my Aunt Patty and cousin Alison were home from Chicago. My Mom and Dad had a cookout so we could all visit. Mom provided the boys with some entertainment in the form of temporary tattoos.

Jack looks cool
Oh how I just LOVE these
pics of Gabe
I think I will get copies made
to frame!

Cooper looking good with his pirate tat

Jack loved his tattoo. Much to his disappointment it started to come off the next day.

It does not look as cool wearing off, but Jack will not let me scrub him until he is raw (which I think is the prescribed method for temporary tattoo removal?) so, it is just going to have to wear off.

Halfway there and playing the name game

Today I am half way through my pregnancy! 20 weeks! Only 20 more to go. Honestly, so far this pregnancy has not been so much fun. I have yet to gain any weight :), but DR Houseworth says I need to put on a couple of pounds. I wish I would have had him put that in writing so I could frame it, because I honestly think that will be the only time I will ever be told that in my life.

~

I have yet to have the need to wear any maternity clothes which is a very good thing. I am hoping to make it through the summer (or until Jill gives me hers) without having to purchase any of the dreaded clothing with the odd elastic waist that holds up the pants. It sucks to buy clothes that one knows they will only wear for a couple of months. Luckily the empire waste is in style and it is fairly easy to buy clothes off the rack that will work for maternity tops as well.

~

Since the sonogram looked like it will be a boy, we are now on the hunt for the perfect name. Jack still wants us to go with Chuck Chuck and at this point that is what we call the baby when we talk about it/him. We will not be naming the baby Chuck Chuck, but I fear that we will continue to refer to him as that no matter what we name him after he is born. I am open to any suggestions. When we do get the name selection narrowed down, I think that we will just wait to surprise everyone until after the baby is born with our choice. I have names I like, and I try to think how they would sound being announced over the loudspeaker at Chivesky Field (I know, maybe he won't want to play football, but let's just assume he will). I have considered calling Tom Clark and asking him to repeat the name over for me in his best announcer voice. I wonder if Tom will still be doing it when my kids are that old. Maybe I should call Shane Howard.

~

On another note, Cliff's nephew Carl and his wife Christy are expecting! She is due the first of Feb '09-exactly 2 months after Chuck Chuck is due. I suppose at my very young age I will be becoming a Great-Aunt. That's scary.

First corn on the cob of summer and an Amish driver

Yesterday as Jack and I were driving by the square we noticed that they were having a farmer's market. And when I say farmer's market I mean the Bergbower Girls Selling Sweet Corn and some Amish chick selling baked goods. We stopped by to pick up some corn from the Bergbower Girls (Kalynn and Morgan).

We gave the Amish baked good stand a pass. It was being manned by a girl in Amish clothing who suspiciously had a Pontiac Grand Prix parked beside her table. When did the Amish start driving? Is that not a sin that will take you straight to Amish hell? I am sure her baked goods were delish, but who knows she could have been someone posing as Amish just to get people to stop. I should have went over and suggested to her if she is going to have a car perhaps she should go with something like the Buick Le Sabre.

It seems much more Amish than a Grand Prix.

We had the corn for lunch today and it was SO good! Jack loved it!

If only we would have had some fresh garden tomatoes to go along with it.

At only $3 for a dozen ears I sure am hoping they will be back next Saturday!

Jack at Swim Lessons showing off his variety of trunks

Level one comes to an end

Jack's Level One swimming lessons came to an end last Friday.

Jack with his teachers and the rest of his class
Jack with Ashley and Chelsea
Ashley and Chelsea were fabulous teachers.
They gave Jack SO much attention and were very patient
with him and the other kids.



And HE PASSED!!
Jack was super excited and told everyone he saw that day and later that night that
he "passed the test!"

He starts Level Two in a week.

Jumping off the diving board=Chips and Sauce

Jack and Gabe at El Rancherito yesterday enjoying the

fruits of Jack's jumping off of the diving board labor!

Bravo to BRAVO!

It's summer. That used to mean nothing was on TV. Not anymore. Thanks to Bravo I have a whole new batch of reality shows (that are really good) to watch this summer!! Each one has at least one bitchy/lovable gay contestant.

The best part is they rerun all of the episodes at other times during the week so if you miss one, you can get caught back up.

Flipping Out. Jeff Lewis is crazy in the best way ever. I love his Elaine look alike assistant Jenni.

Shear Genius. Who would have thought a show about cutting hair could be so much fun?

Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D List. I love this show. She is SOOO funny and has the balls to make fun of Oprah!

And the mother of them all--PROJECT RUNWAY. The new season started last night. In my opinion, the best reality show ever. This is its last season on Bravo before it moves to Lifetime TV for Women. It will be interesting to see how much the show changes if at all on its new home.

Do you watch Bravo? What's your fav?

Pull-up free, the way to be!!

Jack has been potty trained since he was

2 1/2. Potty trained and diaper free except for the bedtime. He has still been wearing pull-ups to bed. NOT ANYMORE!! After a few weeks of dry and underwear only nights, I am going to pronounce him officially completely potty trained (and yes, I bribed him with a Super Soaker squirt gun). Here's to a few months of not having to purchase diapers!!

Update

I know many of you have been wondering about Amanda (Massey) Martin's Mom. I just got an e-mail from Amanda and she said it would be fine for me to share that her Mom is still hanging in there, she is extremely weak and cannot do much on her own. They still covet your prayers.

Amanda will update her blog as soon as she gets a chance.

He did it!!!

With only 3 days left until Jack's level one swim class was over, I felt like it was time for him to jump off the diving board. He has been doing pretty well, but that was one hurdle he had yet to cross. What does any good mother do to get their child to do something they really don't want to......BRIBE!!! I told Jack this morning that if he jumped off the diving board today or tomorrow that Wednesday after class we would go to Olney to eat at his favorite place-CHIPS AND SAUCE (or if you are unfamiliar with Jack speak, El Rancherito). Since Gabe is taking lessons at the same time as Jack I told him Gabe could even come along.


So, today the class headed down to the diving boards....

Jack with Chelsea at the end of the board.
HE DID IT!!
Ashley was there to catch him.

Gabe swam over to congratulate him.

I was so proud of Jack. He told me he was not scared at all. He would not try it again, hopefully tomorrow he will. I think Gabe being there to see him and telling him that he did a good job meant as much as eating at Chips and Sauce,

but El Rancherito here we come.

Here we go Eagles

It may only be mid-July, but the 2008 NCHS Football season is only 45 days away. I am all a tingle with excitement. Sadly, only 4 home games this year and we travel to Pana for game one and Breese Mater Dei for the final game (regular season). Pretty far, but getting there is always half the fun.

No matter what the distance, you would have to tie me down to miss a game.

I don't know about you,
but I am READY FOR SOME NEWTON EAGLE FOOTBALL!!!

Here it is, the official 2008 Newton Eagle Football Schedule

8/29/08 Pana High School Away 7:00
9/5/08 Olney High School Home 7:00
9/12/08 Effingham High Home 7:00
9/19/08 Charleston Away 7:00
9/26/08 Paris Away 7:00
10/3/08 Mt.Zion Home 7:00 Homecoming
10/10/08 Salem Home 7:00 Senior Night
10/17/08 Robinson Away 7:00
10/24/08 Breese Mater Dei Away 7:00

Cooking tip of the day

When placing something in the crock pot for your evening's dinner the most important step is to turn the crockpot on.

I finally did it

As you can see, on the left side of the screen, I finally added a "blog roll". I have noticed that my blog has made it to the list of several "blog rolls" and decided it was time to share the love.

I read a lot of blogs and have not added all of them, but here is a major portion of the blogs I look at on a regular basis. If I added your blog and you want taken off, let me know. If I forgot to add your blog, I am super sorry, please let me know and I will get it on here ASAP!

Happy reading and happy blogging.

Well...........

SO, I had my sonogram this afternoon.

It looks like it is a.........

BOY!!!

They were not 100% sure at all.

For today, at least, we will say I am having a boy.

More later....

BIG DAY---HUGE

Tomorrow (FRIDAY) is the day--I get to have a sonogram! I am super excited because I REALLY want to know the sex of the baby!

I found out just a few weeks ago that my Dr does not normally do a sonogram until 28ish weeks. That meant waiting over two months for the sonogram. I could not wait that long! Michelle informed me that there was a very small possibility that Dr. Houseworth could be bribed. He liked baked goods, but was also a high school football fan. So to the t-shirt and hat stash I went (finally doing all that work for the Athletic Boosters is paying off!) and at today's appointment I presented him with an NCHS Football t-shirt and a Newton Eagles cap. He seemed to really enjoy them, enjoyed them enough to schedule me for a sonogram----TOMORROW!!

So, check the blog tomorrow (FRIDAY) night. Of course I will share what I find out!

Dr. Houseworth with his Newton Eagles gear

I REALLY enjoy Dr. Houseworth.

Never until him had I looked forward to a doctors appointment.

Dr. Houseworth reads my blog and has been anxiously awaiting his chance to make an appearance.

Here you go Doc--you are now famous!

Jack started Level One swim class at the Newton Pool this Wednesday.

Our friends, the beautiful girls, Ashley Hunsaker and Chelsea May are his teachers! Jack is doing very well and really enjoying the lessons. He still has not jumped off the diving board yet, but I am very sure he will by the end of week two.

The Queen makes an appearance at church

Ashley, Queen of the Fair graced us with her presence at church last Sunday. Jack was so excited to see her when she walked in and said in an amazed, hushed voice "Ashley is here and she wore her crown!"

Queen Ashley and Prince Dexter
Ashley with Bamp, the King

Ashley and Michelle

I really am surprised that Michelle did not rip the crown

off of her head to put it on her own.